Process of treating aluminous materials.



L. E. SAUNDERS & J. G. PETRIKIN. gPRoGEsS 0F TRBATING ALUMINoUs MATERIALS.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 27, 1907.

Patented Oct. 27, 1908.

UNITED STATES PigrENT -oEEroE.

LEWISv E. SAUNDERS, OF NIAGARA FALLS, ,NEW YORK, AND JACOBG. PETRIKIN, OF LOOK HAVEN, PENNSYLVANIA.

PROCESS OF TREATING ALUMINOUS MATERIALS.

Patented Oct. 27, 1,908.

To dZZwL-om 'it may concern:

Be it known that we, (l) LEWIS E. SAUN- DERs and (2) JACOB G. PETRIKIN, citizens of the United States, residing,` at (l) Niagara Falls, county of Niagara, State of NeW York, and (2) Lock Haven,I county of Clinton, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Treating Aluminous Materials, of which the following is a specification. l

The obj ect-of this invention is. to provide a process of, treating aluminous materials, such for example as vbauxite'or clay, to separate therefrom part or all of the elements other than aluminum which are capable of yielding volatile chlorids, the elements of this type commonly present being iron, silicon and titanium in the form of oxids or oxygencontaining com ounds. According to the invention such e ements are separated by reacting on the aluminous materlal with aluminm chlorid at suitable temperatures above the vaporizing points of the' chlorids of iron, silicon and titanium, the reactionA resulting in thel production ofchlorids of these elements and of oxid of aluminum according to `the equations:

.-NAcc-ording tothe preferred form of the invention the aluminous material iscalcined and subjected at a temperature sufficient to l tanium, or of such of these elements as. lmay be present, are continuously Withdrawn from the reaction vessel. Preferably these chlorids are treated for thev production of h drochl'oric acid or chlorin tod-be utilized 1n the preparation of additional quantities of aluminum chlorid, thus rendering; the vprocess cyclical in character.

In order that theinventionmay -be fully.y understood it will be described by reference. toone embodiment thereof, it being under-1 stood that the invention is not restricted toy the steps ofthe cyclical process described.v

Reference is vInadeto the accompanying drawing in which the several steps of a cyclical process embodying and illustrating the invention are diagrammatically indicated.

Ground bauxite, clay or other aluminous materialis calcined in a suitable kiln 1 which may be of the gas-fired rotary type, and is transferred hot to a reaction vessel 2Which may likewise comprise a rotary drum, referably having a lining. of basic materia as alumina. In the vessel 2 the hot aluminous material is subjected to a current of aluminum chlorid vapor,with the result that alumina is produced or separated from the vapor, and any iron, silicon arid titanium which may be present are se arated as volai tile chlorids. A portion of t e residue in the `reaction vessel, which in case all of the iron, silicon and titanium are transformed into chlorids consists of substantially or commercially pure alumina derived from the original aluminous material and from the aluminum chlorid, is transferred to a heatsinterchanger 3, Where its heat is utilized for raising the temperature of the aluminum ohlorid for the reaction, the aluminum chlorid vapor being thereby superheated above its 4vaporizing point. -Another portion of the alumlna from the vessel'2 is transferred to the aluminum chlorid generator 4 and utilized for the preparation of the aluminum chlorid required for treating or purifying the aluminous material. The proportion of the alumina reuired for this purpose will depend upon the c aracter ofi'the original alummous material and the-proportion offiron, silicon and ti- -tanium therein.

The volatile chlorids from the reaction the -car on monoxid, hydrogen' and other -xed gases thus separated may be conducted to the' gas roducer and utilized for the cal- YAciliation o the raw material. The aluminum ehlorid is then again vaporized` as indicated at 7, superheated in the `heal'finterlchanger 3, and .passed :into the reaction vvessel 2. As thus described thev process is cyclical in character, but it will be understood that the invention is notrestricted to this particular procedure, and that the aluminum v chlorid required for the treatment or purification of the aluminous material may be derived from any source and-vaporized or heated in any desired manner.

It is preferable to purify the coke prior to its introduction into the enerator 4, and this is conveniently accomp ished by igniting itlin a` furnace 8 .in a current of gaseous hydrochloric acid, conveniently derived from the decomposing vessel 5 above referred to; such treatment yields volatile chlorids of. iron and silicon which are .preferably returned to the same or other decomposing vessel, and therein treated for the roduction of hydrochloric acid Which may e utilized as above described.

'.lhev reaction in the vessel 2, comprising tl le conversion of the vapor of aluminum chloridinto alumina and the' production and volatilization of chlorids of iron, silicon and titanium is exothermic in character, andl may be maintained in a vessel suitably protected against radiation Without sup ly of heat other than that conveyed by the reshly calcined and highly heated bauxite or clay and the superheated vapor of aluminum chlorid. Heat may however be supplied to the material in this vessel from other sources if found desirable or necessary.

We claim:

1. The vprocess of treating aluminous materials to separate therefrom elements yielding volatile chlorids, which consists in forming chlorids of'skuch4 elements by reacting upon said aluminous materials with aluminum chlorid, and volatilizing said chlorids.

2. The process vof treating aluminous materials to separate therefrom elements yielding .volatile chlorids, which consists in heating the aluminous material' and reacting thereon with aluminum chlorid vapor.

3. The process of treating aluminous materials to separate therefrom elements yieldvolatile chlorids, which consists in heatlng the aluminous vmaterial `and reacting thereon with aluminum chlorid vapor superheated above its vaporizing point.

4. The process of treating aluminous materials to separate therefrom elements yielding volatile chlorids, which consists in forming chlorids of such elements by reactin with aluminum chlorid, volatilizin sai chlorids, converting the same into a c oridizing agent, and reacting therewith on alumina to producealuminum chlorid.

5. The processpof treating. aluminous materials to ,separate therefrom elements yielding volatile chlorids, which consists in forming chlorids of such elements by reactin with aluminum chlorid, volatilizing sai chlorids, converting the same into a chloridizing agent, and reacting therewith on a portion ofthe residual alumina to produce aluminum chlorid.

6. The process of heating aluminous materials to separate therefrom elements yielding volatile chlorids, which consists in forming chlorids of such elements vby reacting with aluminum chlorid, volatilizin said chlorids, converting thesame into a c oridizing agent, reacting .therewith on a portion ofthe residual alumina to produce aluminum chlorid, and reacting with the aluminum chlorid thus produced upon further portions of the aluminous material.

7. The process of treating aluminous materials to separate therefrom elements yielding volatile chlorids, which consists in forming chlorids of such elements by reacting upon said aluminous materials With aluminum chlorid superheated above its vaporizing point, and volatilizing said chlorids.

8. The process of treating aluminous materials to separate therefrom elements yielding volatile chlorids, which consists in vaporizing aluminum chlorid, superheating the vapors, and reacting with the same on heated aluminous material.

9. The process vof treating aluminous materials to separate therefrom elements yieldling volatile chlorids, which consists in vapolcining an aluminous material, reacting thereon With aluminum chlorid, and effectin a heat interchan e between the resulting aumina and the a uminum chlorid vapor to be used for the reaction.

In testimony whereof, we anni our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

LEWIS E. SAUNDERS. JACOB G. PETRIKIN.

Witnesses for Saunders:

CLINTON P. TowNsEND, CHAs. H. POTTER.,

Witnesses for Petrikin:

E. P. GEARY, B. F. GEARY. 

